Have a question about this requirement?

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Requirement

Support for FTP or SFTP flat file transfers

Functional Area

Integration

Industries
All
Tags
CSV Uploads
DETAILS

Description

This requirement is valuable for organizations with legacy source system platforms that lack APIs or other direct-connect technology. It allows organizations to send, receive, or manage files from any network, using primarily flat files.

Example Use Case

Scenario: A family-owned construction company deployed a CPM tool for project forecasting. Their operations management system was installed 20 years ago and sits behind their firewall. The firewall prevents any inbound or outbound connections.

Solution: The IT team implements a data extraction process from their operational system that pulls a flat file each week. They write a script that moves that flat file to a SFPT server that is accessible only to the CPM vendor. The CPM tool searches for that file on a pre-determined schedule and uploads it.

Considerations

The FTP protocol has been around since the 1970's and is primarily meant to transfer files. The SFTP version is encrypted, and is the primary method to use the protocol today.

We include this requirement because organizations using older business management platforms often lack any sort of external access capability. Without a legacy file transfer method like FTP, they'd be left to manually export data from their system and upload it manually into the CPM tool each period. By automating file transfer with FTP, this not only makes the CPM tool more useful, but it also can extend the life of the operational system by augmenting with more modern reporting.

This does require an internal IT team or consultant to build the file extract from your operational system and place it in an SFTP environment that is accessible to the outside. Older CPM products tend to support this, while the newest ones often do not.

If you have a legacy operational system - defined as something 15+ years old or a custom system developed in-house, you may need this functionality.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

  • Automated Data Imports: Do you offer the ability to schedule imports via SFTP?
  • File Structure: Does it have to be one file, or can the system import and blend multiple file types?